Main Club, 15 February 2025

I arrived at Coogee Beach around 8 am to find so many activities going on, such as yoga on the lawn, running, and a group of divers getting ready for their underwater instruction. I got a nearby spot for my car and noticed a building going up on the corner of Socrates and Napoleon Parade, which hopefully will be a toilet block and changing rooms by next year. There was a light wind, a clear sky and calm water. I had checked the conditions the day before and expected the water temperature to be around 23˚C, perfect for snorkelling.

At 8.30 am, 10 people had turned up for this event, of which two were financial members, one a student from Malaysia, and two young kids. After briefly explaining why we celebrated Darwin’s birthday and what people could expect from the snorkelling experience, we went to the water. Two of our visitors were experienced snorkelers and came prepared with wetsuits, weight belts and underwater cameras. They were also very knowledgeable about the local fish life that we could expect to see. One of the kids told me that the most interesting fish seen was the one with pink lips, and I have to agree with that.

We also saw a star octopus (left) hiding under the rubble near the wreck, a flatworm and red-netted nudibranch on the rocks (below), three species of leatherjackets and many other fishes.

Belinda Forbes even saw a Fingered Dragonet near the rocks. We all commented on how many juvenile fish and fish species were seen around the wreck and that the soft corals and algae varied. There were also funnel weed, ball sponges, a sea anemone, hydroids and many others we could not name.

After snorkelling around the wreck, we followed part of the snorkelling trail. We admired the bottom with ripples of sand and the play of light reflecting back rainbow colours, some catfish probing the sand with their barbels, and a weeping toadfish that was buried in the sand, so you only saw its orange eye and a bit of the head.

After about an hour of exploring the relatively clear waters, we got out just in time before the rush of other people came in. The fish ID books came out, and we discussed what we saw. The book Wonders of Western Waters is still one of my favourites for looking up marine life. Our two keen snorkelers were still in the water but knew we would go for a coffee and something to eat to restore our reserves and warm up. One of them joined us at the café.

After recording 30 different fish, we concluded that this had been a very enjoyable morning and that we should come back another time. Who knows what next year will bring?

Jolanda Keeble

All images by Jolanda Keeble

See page 2 for fishes, molluscs and others, identified